7 Employees

7.1 Employee benefit expense and average number of people employed

	2018 £'000		2017 £'000		2016 £'000
Wages and salaries (including bonuses)		(255,637)		(229,605)		(202,982)
Social security costs		(31,396)		(27,334)		(23,499)
Share-based payments (note 22)		(6,216)		(4,090)		(3,334)
Pension costs—defined contribution schemes (note 30.2)		(2,686)		(2,435)		(2,427)

		(295,935)		(263,464)		(232,242)

Details of the pension arrangements offered by the Company and the Group are disclosed in note 30.

The average number of employees during the year, including directors, was as follows:

	2018 Number		2017 Number		2016 Number
By activity:
Football—players		81		74		74
Football—technical and coaching		165		136		94
Commercial		121		120		111
Media		87		90		94
Administration and other		468		445		426

Average number of employees		922		865		799

The Group also employs approximately 3,858 temporary staff on match days (2017: 2,053; 2016: 2,124), the costs of which are included in the employee benefit expense above.

7.2 Key management compensation

Key management includes directors (executive and non-executive) of the Company and executive directors and officers of the Group's main operating company, Manchester United Football Club Limited. The compensation paid or payable to key management for employee services, which is included in the employee benefit expense table above, is shown below:

	2018 £'000		2017 £'000		2016 £'000
Short-term employee benefits		(7,620)		(8,601)		(7,908)
Share-based payments		(5,275)		(3,654)		(3,131)
Post-employment benefits		(20)		(71)		(70)

		(12,915)		(12,326)		(11,109)